Bangladeshi religious leaders have high hopes for Pope’s visit

Pope Francis delivers a video message to the people of Bangladesh (CNS)

But hardliners say they will protest if the Pope says or does anything 'unexpected and unacceptable'

Religious leaders in Bangladesh have said they hope that Pope Francis’s visit will promote harmony and tolerance in the Muslim-majority nation.

However, one hard-line Muslim group said it would protest if the Pope said or did anything “unexpected and unacceptable,” ucanews.com reported.

The visit from November 30 to December 2 will be the third by a pope to the populous, impoverished country. Blessed Paul VI made a stopover in 1970 lasting a few hours in what was then East Pakistan to express sympathy for victims of a devastating cyclone. St John Paul II came to independent Bangladesh on November 19, 1986.

During his trip to Dhaka, the capital, Pope Francis will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid as well as members of the diplomatic corps and civil society. He plans to pay his respects at two national memorials and celebrate Mass for more than 100,000 people in Dhaka, where he will ordain 16 deacons to the priesthood.

Interfaith and ecumenical gatherings and a visit to a home for destitute people run by the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation that St Teresa of Calcutta founded, also are on the Pontiff’s itinerary.

The Holy See was among the first states to recognise Bangladesh after it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 and established full diplomatic relations in 1973.

The relationship was based on universal values such as compassion and human dignity that transcend ethnicity and politics, Cardinal D’Rozario said. Past international expressions of sympathy when Bangladesh suffered from natural disasters and the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse that claimed more than 1,100 lives cemented the relationship, he said.

“I have seen the joyful feeling in people, who are eager to have an encounter with the leader who is a symbol of unity of the Church,” the cardinal said.

On another front, a senior leader of the hard-line Hefazat-e-Islam group welcomed the Pope’s visit, but said he would closely monitor it.

“Pope Francis is the supreme leader of Christians and head of the Vatican state, so we welcome him in our country,” Mufti Faizullah, a joint secretary of the group, told ucanews.com. “We will be closely watching what he says and does during the trip. If we find anything unexpected and unacceptable, we will protest and issue statements if necessary.”

The group has pushed for rigorous implementation of an anti-blasphemy law, execution of atheists, Islamisation of school textbooks and removal of idols and statues from public places and has attacked what it sees as Christian evangelisation in some areas.

Maolana Fariduuddin Masoud, president of the liberal Muslim group Bangladesh Jamiyat-ul-Ulema, said he expects love and hospitality will be highlighted during the Pope’s visit.

“Pope Francis is a saintly figure and a global leader, so people are honoured to have him in Bangladesh and they will offer him overwhelming love,” Masoud told ucanews.com.

Bangladesh’s pluralistic and tolerant image has been tainted by a lethal rise of Islamic radicalism in recent years. Since 2013 Islamic militants have murdered some 50 people including atheist bloggers, writers and publishers, gay rights activists, liberal Muslims, religious minorities and foreigners. A government crackdown resulted in about 70 militant deaths and dozens of arrests.

Rana Dasgupta, a lawyer and Hindu leader in Dhaka, said the Pope might look at lapses in Bangladesh’s battle against extremism.

“Extremists wanted to attack the heart of the nation, our pluralism and harmony, so they killed people who held liberal or critical views on religion or adhere to other faiths,” Dasgupta said.

“This extremist ideology is not part of our culture, but little has been done on this front to present a counter-ideology. Pope Francis has been soft on Islam, refused to associate it with terrorism and called for dialogue between religions to combat violence and extremism,” he said.

Dasgupta said the Bangladeshi government had government efforts to promote dialogue and harmony were insufficient.

“Maybe the Pope can offer some guidance on how best dialogue can be used for harmony and peace,” he said.

Ashoke Barua, a Buddhist leader, said the papal visit would be a boon for religious harmony.

“Pope Francis’s trip will reinvigorate religious harmony and bring people of all faiths closer,” he said. “It is also a great opportunity to present Bangladesh’s goodness to the world.”

Despite recent setbacks, Cardinal D’Rozario said he expects that Pope Francis realises the nation remained committed to harmony and peace.

“Our nation is like a river,” the cardinal said. “Sometimes you see strong currents fuelled by strong winds, but at the riverbed there is calmness. And this comes from the basic religiosity and pluralism of people.”

Bangladesh is struggling to cope with a refugee influx triggered by violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The pope is expected to take up the issue publicly or privately during his visit.

Cardinal D’Rozario noted that Bangladesh had lived up its “traditional values” by accepting fleeing Rohingya. “The pope is coming for harmony and peace, not for just Rohingya but for all,” he said.

“He is not coming to solve any problem, but he will surely have a message for them and for everyone.”

The cardinal noted that the Rohingya crisis had similar elements to violence against marginalised communities around the globe, including where “big world powers” are involved.

“The Pope will not just talk about Rohingya,” he added, “but other persecuted people and maybe he will be critical of those who ‘shed crocodile’s tears’ for Rohingya but not for others, like Christians in the Middle East.”